Stud extension for use with weldment spacer in precast concrete construction

ABSTRACT

A stud extension sleeve is an elongate sleeve for use with a weldment plate spacer support and weldment plate in the pre-cast concrete industry is adapted to receive at one end, a stem portion of a weldment plate spacer support. The elongate sleeve has a hollow portion within which the stem portion of the spacer support is inserted. The length of the elongate sleeve is configured so that when the spacer support is connected to the weldment plate and the stem portion is inserted in the elongate sleeve, the overall height is longer than the desired thickness of the pre-cast concrete structure to be poured so that a portion of the elongate sleeve at its distal end can be removed to maintain the weldment plate at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure to be poured.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the manufacture of concrete walls used in concrete construction, especially the re-cast concrete construction industry.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

More particularly, the present invention is directed to a stud extension for use in combination with a spacer support that holds a weldment plate in proper position until the wet concrete sets up. The weldment plate spacer supports which are contemplated to be used in the present invention are any of those depicted and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,390 issued Nov. 23, 2004 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,635 issued Nov. 30, 2004, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirely.

In commercial construction, as well as in residential construction where wood is at a premium, builders are increasingly using tilt-up and/or pre-cast concrete construction, that is, they are pouring concrete walls in forms as they lay on the ground, floor or other surface, and then tilting them up into the desired position after the concrete has cured. Of course the pre-cast is done at the plant or manufacturing site. These structures are generally significantly thicker than the thickness of tilt-up walls.

One of the features such construction affords is the placement of a weldment plate on one surface of the wall so that structural support beams, and the like, may be welded/secured between adjacent walls. In current practice, the concrete wall is poured and then the weldment plate is “floated” on the top of the wet cement. Since these steel plates are denser than the wet concrete, they tend to sink below the surface. Accordingly, it sometimes becomes necessary to allow the concrete to take a partial set and then attempt to push the weldment plate into the desired position. Neither of these current practices provides effective quality control and the results often are not those desired.

Applicant solved this problem by designing weldment plate spacer supports as disclosed in the above-mentioned patents to the inventor herein. The stud or leg portion that is welded to the plate thereby forming the weldment plate is sometimes referred to as a Nelson Stud. This stud typically comprises a head portion and a shank portion between the bottom surface of the plate and the head portion. The spacer supports invented and disclosed in the above mentioned patents attach either to the head portion or a combination of the head portion and shank portion, such as where the head rest on a shelf of the spacer support and the clipping action is on the shank portion. The inventive spacer supports are ideal for the tilt-up industry, where the wall thicknesses are about 7.25 inches thick. The studs to which the spacer supports connect are usually a length that is about 75% of the thickness of the wall to be poured on site or about 5 inches long. The spacer support is attached and its leg or stem is cut or adjusted in the field so that the weldment plate is relatively flush with the poured concrete surface finish.

Although these same spacer supports can be used in the pre-cast industry, additional expensive molds have to be designed making the overall costs prohibitively expensive. The pre-cast industry wall thicknesses are typically about 24 inches thick, but the studs are still about 5 inches long. Therefore, spacer supports with longer and stronger, thicker legs or stems need to be designed. This is what contributes to the expensive mold designs.

What is needed is an alternative less expensive product that can be used in the pre-cast industry while at the same time standardizing concrete products such as the weldment plate spacer supports of the above-mentioned patents that are used in the tilt-up industry wherein these supports can also be used in the pre-cast industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicant has concluded that a simpler alternative is to use the existing spacer supports designed primarily for the tilt-up wall industry and to instead design a novel stud extension sleeve to be used in combination with the weldment plate support. In the tilt-up industry, the weldment plate's studs are usually about 5 inches long so as to have a required depth of about three-fourths the thickness of the 7¼ inch thick poured wall. In the pre-cast industry, although the walls are significantly thicker, e.g., 24 inches thick, the same stud length is used. It is therefore desirable to use the same weldment plate spacer supports used for the tilt-up industry for cost and standardizing and add a stud extension sleeve to couple with the spacer support that can be cut in length at the pre-casting site, usually a manufacturing facility.

The invention is a device for supporting each shank of a weldment plate used in the construction of pre-cast concrete structure. The weldment plate comprises multiple shanks extending from below a bottom surface of the weldment plate with a head portion at a distal end of each shank.

The inventive device comprises an elongate sleeve adapted to receive at one end, a stem portion of a weldment plate spacer support. The spacer support is adapted at its upper end to engage the weldment plate and the spacer support has a stem portion length that is insufficient to maintain the weldment plate at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure due to the thickness of the desired pre-cast concrete structure to be poured.

The elongate sleeve has a hollow portion within which the stem portion of the spacer support is inserted.

The length of the elongate sleeve is configured so that when the spacer support is connected to the weldment plate and the stem portion is inserted in the elongate sleeve, the overall height is longer than the desired thickness of the pre-cast concrete structure so that a portion of the elongate sleeve at its distal end can be removed to maintain the weldment plate at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure to be poured. To obtain this desired feature, the elongate sleeve is typically about 8 inches long and the hollow portion of the elongate sleeve has a depth of about 5 inches.

In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the elongate sleeve is generally X-shaped, although other shapes such as round-shaped or square-shaped are contemplated. Similarly, in the preferred embodiment, the hollow portion of the elongate sleeve has a cross-sectional shape, which is generally X-shaped, although other shapes such as round-shaped or square-shaped are contemplated.

The elongate sleeve can be made out of many materials such as metal or plastic resinous materials, also referred to herein as polymeric composite materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a conceptual representation of the inventive sleeve in use with a weldment plate spacer attached to a weldment plate;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the components of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the inventive sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a conceptual representation of the invention 10 comprising the elongate sleeve 12 in use with a weldment plate spacer 20 attached to the head of a weldment plate 30. In this disclosure, the weldment plate 30 is inclusive of the plate itself with depending studs, which comprise a shank 30 b and a head portion 30 a to which the weldment plate spacer support 20 attaches using clips or grip fingers such as those shown as 20 b. Spacer support 20 shown in the drawing is merely and example of one embodiment that can be used with the invention 10.

The invention 10 is a device for supporting each shank 30 b of a weldment plate 30 used in the construction of pre-cast concrete structure. As mentioned above, the weldment plate 30 comprises multiple shanks 30 b extending from below a bottom surface of the weldment plate 30 with a head portion 30 a at a distal end of each shank 30 b.

The inventive device 10 comprises an elongate sleeve 12 adapted to receive at one end, a stem portion 20 a of a weldment plate spacer support 20. The spacer support 20 is adapted at its upper end to engage the weldment plate 30 and the spacer support 20 has a stem portion length that is insufficient to maintain the weldment plate 30 at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure due to the thickness of the desired pre-cast concrete structure to be poured.

The elongate sleeve 12 has a hollow portion 14 within which the stem portion 20 a of the spacer support 20 is inserted.

The length of the elongate sleeve 12 is configured or formed so that when the spacer support 20 is connected to the weldment plate 30 and the stem portion 20 a is inserted in the elongate sleeve 12, the overall height is longer than the desired thickness of the pre-cast concrete structure so that a portion of the elongate member or sleeve 12 at its distal end can be removed to maintain the weldment plate 30 at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure to be poured. To obtain this desired feature, the elongate sleeve 12 is typically about 8 inches long and the hollow portion 14 of the elongate sleeve has a depth of about 5 inches.

In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the elongate sleeve 12 is generally X-shaped, although other shapes such as round-shaped or square-shaped are contemplated. Similarly, in the preferred embodiment, the hollow portion 14 of the elongate sleeve 12 has a cross-sectional shape, which is generally X-shaped, although other shapes such as round-shaped or square-shaped are contemplated.

It should be understood that the preceding is merely a detailed description of one or more embodiments of this invention and that numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The preceding description, therefore, is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A device for supporting each shank of a weldment plate used in the construction of pre-cast concrete structure, the weldment plate comprising multiple shanks extending from below a bottom surface of the weldment plate with a head portion at a distal end of each shank, the device comprising: an elongate sleeve adapted to receive at one end, a stem portion of a weldment plate spacer support, said spacer support being adapted at its upper end to engage the weldment plate and the spacer support has a stem portion length that is insufficient to maintain the weldment plate at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure due to the thickness of the desired pre-cast concrete structure to be poured; the elongate sleeve having a hollow portion within which the stem portion is inserted; a length of the elongate sleeve being configured so that when the spacer support is connected to the weldment plate and the stem portion is inserted in the elongate sleeve, the overall height is longer than the desired thickness of the pre-cast concrete structure so that a portion of the elongate sleeve at a distal end of said elongate sleeve can be removed to maintain the weldment plate at the surface of the pre-cast concrete structure to be poured.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the elongate sleeve is about 8 inches long.
 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the hollow portion of the elongate sleeve has a depth of about 5 inches.
 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the elongate sleeve is generally X-shaped.
 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the hollow portion of the elongate sleeve has a cross-sectional shape, which is generally X-shaped.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the elongate sleeve is made from a polymeric composite material. 